The Light Inside
by Gwynn
Summary: Chapter 8 Up! What if Kaede had been the first to awaken Inuyasha from his spell instead of Kagome? Contains some violence, sensuality, mature themes, and strong language. Kaede/Inuyasha pairing
1. Chapter 1: Introduction

The Light Inside 

Chapter One: Introduction 

Ever since my sister Kikyo was slain six years ago, I found myself often visiting the forest near the village in which I lived. The villagers believed I performed such an action in memory of Kikyo since it had been her favorite place to be when she was still alive. Much as I loved and respected my sister, I regret to admit the focus of my visits wasn't Kikyo but her lover Inuyasha.

Deep in the forest, Inuyasha was bound to a sacred tree with an arrow. This arrow contained a special seal designed to make him fall into a sleep lasting for all eternity. Kikyo had put him there herself with the last of her strength before she died. It was only fitting, considering the betrayal he'd inflicted on her.

Kikyo's foremost duty in life was the Shikon No Tama, a most dangerous jewel that could be easily tainted and corrupted by the black ambitions of any human or yokai acquiring it. As a miko, Kikyo used her considerable spiritual powers to purify and protect the Shikon No Tama. Consequently, she wasn't allowed to pursue the life of a normal woman as long as it existed.

Perhaps that was why my sister became so drawn to the hanyou Inuyasha. Like herself, he was an outsider from the mainstream of society. Of course, Inuyasha still wanted the Shikon No Tama for himself in order to turn into a full-fledged yokai. I suppose he was never able to fully subdue his desire for the Shikon No Tama, resulting in my sister's eventual demise.

During the course of Inuyasha and Kikyo's secret love affair, I tended to a horribly burned criminal named Onigumo. Kikyo had offered this Onigumo shelter in a cave not far from the village. I honestly didn't see the need to prolong his life, given that he would lose it soon enough. However, Kikyo always preferred to exhibit kindness toward Onigumo, even after I revealed to her that he obviously lusted after her and wished to possess the Shikon No Tama. From then on, I held my tongue, but I knew she was careless to ignore any lurking threat with Inuyasha around to distract her.

Luckily, I was relieved of my responsibility to Onigumo not long after Kikyo died. One of the many fires I had lit for his warmth seemed to have spread out of control while I wasn't there and consumed him alive. Nothing of him was left except for a dark burn mark in the cave floor where his body once lay. Sorrowful over the passing of my sister, I didn't hesitate in closing up the cave and promptly forgetting about Onigumo.

However, I couldn't disregard Inuyasha quite as easily. Something about him inspired sympathy for him in spite of what he did to my sister. He didn't chose to be a hanyou any more than my sister had asked to be charged with the responsibility of the Shikon No Tama. Additionally, neither Inuyasha nor Kikyo decided to fall in love with each other on purpose. Each was a victim of circumstances. If matters had worked out differently, would they have had a life together?

"Ifs" were a game for children, though, and I had long ago ceased to be a child on the day my sister died. A handicap of my own constantly reminded me of this bitter fact: a missing right eye. Falling debris from when Inuyasha broke into the village shrine to steal the Shikon No Tama caused the injury. Although I'd adopted an ebony tsuba to minimize the ugliness, I rarely gazed upon myself in a looking glass.

At any rate, I didn't need a looking glass to show me my appearance. The garb of a miko always adored me: dark red hakama, pleated pants, white kimono shirt with very long and wide sleeves, white tabi socks, and brown zori. Who else could become the miko except me? Our father was the priest of the village shrine, and the priest's daughters are the only ones who can be miko. Therefore, I must take Kikyo's place.

My sister's obligation to the Shikon No Tama did not pass on to me. Right before she closed her eyes for the last time, Kikyo instructed me to burn the cursed jewel with her body so that it would never plague the world again. With great sadness, I followed her directions to the letter and spent the next six years training to become a miko. Because the village turned all expectant eyes on me, I feared I would never measure up to my sister's formidable legacy.

Little did I know that I would be shortly propelled on a series of events forever intertwining my fate with Inuyasha's.


	2. Chapter 2: Resurrection

The Light Inside 

Chapter Two: Resurrection 

The fateful day began like any other archetypal summer day: sunny, beautiful, and suggestive of endless promise. After attending to the morning duties, I excused myself for exercises through the forest. As always, I slung a bow and full quiver of arrows over my slender shoulder. One could never be too careful. Yokai or bandits might be lurking about somewhere.

Scarcely any time had passed before I reached my destination: the sacred tree where Inuyasha was held captive by the seal. My heart thumped noticeably at the familiar sight. With his drooping head and relaxed facial features, he appeared to be enjoying a thoroughly peaceful sleep. Accordingly, he never stirred at the gentle wind blowing strands of his hair into his face.

For the millionth time, I wondered at the primeval nature of his form. Kikyo had informed me that he was half dog-yoaki, half human. It was easy enough to discern the human qualities in him. Inuyasha's handsome red fire rat outfit (consisting of a hakama taken in at the ankles, a hitoe, and obi) oddly reminded me of a Shinto cleric's garb. Moreover, Inuyasha's build definitely reflected the body of a well-built, young human male.

Then the yoaki portion of his heritage took reign. Time and again, he displayed extraordinary strength typically present in yokai but beyond the scope of humans. Furthermore, his hair wasn't the color of normal human hair; it was silver. He wore the mane thick, long, and wild, quite unlike the neat topknots many human men sported. Another distinction occurred in his eyes: they were yellow, not black or brown. Lastly, the most telling characteristics in hinting at nonhuman parentage were the fangs, claws, and doglike ears perched atop his head.

Kneeling in front of Inuyasha, I briefly prayed for both him and my sister. Once I was done, I hopped back up. I paused briefly and executed a sweeping scan of the area around me for any intruders. Against my better judgment, I whispered aloud the forbidden words that had burned at my throat over and over again.

"I love you, Inuyasha."

Every day I confessed this sentiment to an unwary, unsuspecting Inuyasha. What a damned fool I was! How could I express affection to a hanyou who claimed my sister as his lover and might as well be dead to me for betraying and murdering her? The most he ever deserved to incite in me was pity, which he had already accomplished.

Nonetheless, despite any objections, I still loved Inuyasha. Throughout his relationship with Kikyo, Inuyasha called me the "brat," and I knew he never thought of me more than necessary. Yet his kindness toward me in the most unexpected moments touched my ten-year-old heart deeply. It convinced me of the possibility that there might be more to Inuyasha than met the eye. Do gentle yokai actually exist? Was this the allure that'd captivated my sister?

Along the way, my curiosity about Inuyasha morphed into admiration and finally a girlish infatuation. Such emotions evidently doomed me from the start, for it wasn't the first occasion in which our family endured sisters sharing one man. My own father had been involved with two sisters.

The older sister was his wife and Kikyo's mother. Sadly, the older sister died while giving birth to Kikyo. My father took the younger sister as his concubine while still married to the older sister. I was the eventual result of that union, although a small son followed afterwards only to be stuck down by illness.

Father didn't withstand the loss of his male heir very well. Since Kikyo was the offspring of a legitimate wife, she was thereafter recognized as his successor. I, a lowly concubine's daughter, was pushed to the sidelines. No future was ever planned for me even as my father groomed her for the miko position. Over the years, Kikyo grew to be the brilliant, radiant sun the whole village adored, and in contrast, I was the cold, barren moon no one cared to notice.

Jealousy and resentment should have been the fodder to eat away at my mind, but I could never hate Kikyo. By my seventh birthday, both my mother and father had already gone to the afterlife. Kikyo subsequently became my only family, specifically the mother figure I so desperately needed. I would have truly died from heartache had she been taken away from me at that period in time.

Now I really was alone in the world, yet strangely, Inuyasha's continued physical presence comforted me somehow. Kikyo's spell never rendered him dead to me. He remained as alive as the day my sister had confined him to the sacred tree. There was hope I could revive him.

Naturally, the logic behind that supposition was beyond asinine. My spiritual powers were not equal to Kikyo's great ones. Besides, what was I to do with Inuyasha should I succeed? What fresh havoc would he wreak on the village? What might he do to me? Or Kikyo's grave? I could not bare the thought of witnessing Inuyasha's rage. He was a hanyou not to be denied fair recompense for being wronged.

Frustrated with the helplessness of my fate, I cut off my musings on the past and returned to the present. It was more than time I let sleeping dogs like Inuyasha lie; I could not persist in yearning for things that would never be, lest my longing drive me mad. First, though, I would dare to seize a privilege long ago reserved for only my sister.

Slowly I crept toward Inuyasha, my breath coming in shallow gasps. I stood on tiptoe and clutched the sleeves of his hitoe in an effort to keep my body steady. I shook with nervousness and excitement. Amazingly, Inuyasha was still warm to the touch. Somehow I always knew he'd be that way. A moment later, my lips grazed his softly. How I wished his arms could envelop me! As it was, I had to be consciously aware of my balance so as to not fall onto the hard ground behind me.

Suddenly, I gasped when I heard a heartbeat next to mine followed by something indeed snaking itself around me. My eyes immediately snapped open in surprise. Inuyasha was staring down at me! The burning contempt displayed in his yellow eyes caused me to somehow find the strength to wrench myself from his viselike grip. I landed prone on my back, my gaze still joined to his.

"Bitch, who are you, and how did you revive me?" he growled.


	3. Chapter 3: Confrontation

The Light Inside 

Chapter Three: Confrontation 

Words would not come. The upset was merely too great for speech. How did Inuyasha awaken? Had I actually accomplished the deed? Was it my kiss?

In the interim, Inuyasha continued to survey me carefully. He could not approach me while still held fast to the sacred tree by the arrow. Obviously, I wouldn't be setting him free anytime soon unless I could be assured of his trustworthiness.

His eyes narrowing, Inuyasha abruptly declared in an abrasive voice, "Your scent seems familiar to me. Where I have met you before?"

My dry lips parted, and I somehow found the vigor to reply. "I am Kaede, Kikyo's younger sister. Six years have passed since you were bound to the tree, which explains my altered appearance."

The hanyou laughed harshly. "I should have known you were the brat. You don't look much different to me. Except for the eye patch, that is."

Instinctively, my right hand moved to the eye patch. Shame and anger filled my consciousness. After all this time, I was still nothing to him. What did he know about me except that I was Kikyo's sister? Wasn't being Kikyo's sister the identity I had always been cursed with anyway?

"So if you're here, where's Kikyo?" Inuyasha taunted further. "Is she too good to come herself?"

"You impudent half-breed!" I cried passionately, jumping into a standing position and backing away from him a bit. I could no longer bear to be insulted in such a manner. "I lost both my eye and my sister because of your actions!"

At my outburst, Inuyasha's smug flippancy melted away. A mixture of regret and shock rushed in on his features. I was instantly sorry for speaking so callously myself.

"Kikyo is dead?" the hanyou echoed in disbelief. "Does that mean the Shikon No Tama is in your care?"

"No, I don't have the Shikon No Tama," I refuted flatly. "It was burned along with Kikyo's body. She didn't wish it to fall into the wrong hands ever again."

Painful stillness ensued. I averted my eye from Inuyasha's face.

Inuyasha finally spoke. "Brat, if Kikyo sealed me and had you destroy the Shikon No Tama, why are you here?"

Surprisingly, I discovered an answer easily suppliable to him. "You were once kind to Kikyo and me, so I come nearly every day to pray for you. This is my duty as a miko."

"You're stupid to pray for a hanyou you claim killed your sister."

This time, I had no response. I simply ducked my head as my face flamed up hotly. Inuyasha always seemed to have a knack for cutting straight to the heart of a matter with a single direct statement. Except for when it actually pertained to matters of the heart. Those he would never comprehend.

"Look at me, brat."

Something about his voice compelled me to follow his command despite my lingering embarrassment. Inuyasha's jaw was set in a tight clench.

"I didn't slay Kikyo. It was _she_ who betrayed me."

"What? How can this be true? You went to meet her the morning she died and dealt her the fatal wound on her shoulder, did you not?"

"No!" the hanyou protested. "She fired the first shot at me!"

I could only stare at him in stony silence. Had the years of enchantment rendered him senseless?

"You have to believe me." The intensity in his voice startled me. "I would never hurt her. I can't understand why she would imagine it possible to harm me."

Astoundingly, I did not doubt his sincerity. If he held anything of value in this world, Kikyo was that precious treasure. Yet I was finding it difficult to reconcile the discrepancies between Inuyasha and Kiyko's accounts of the same series of events.

"I don't know what to believe," I murmured, mostly to myself.

"Maybe Kikyo wasn't as perfect as you thought she was," Inuyasha remarked, not bothering to hide the fact that his ears were sensitive enough to hear my hushed comment.

"Don't mistake me for the gullible type," I hurled right back at him. "I won't accept your flimsy excuse to attack the village. Your lust for the Shikon No Tama surpassed any regard you had for my sister. I suppose bloodshed is the only method that yokai know."

Scowling, the hanyou studied me critically again. "And how is it any different with humans?"

I sighed wearily. The high amount of emotional energy involved in maintaining this conversation was beginning to take its toll on me. I opted for the unspeakable as a miko: to let my guard down in front of a yokai.

"You're right, Inuyasha. Yokai and humans are equally petty and vindictive. I tire of it all."

For the first time since he had laid eyes on me, Inuyasha's expression adopted a sort of calmness. "Then release me. Both Kikyo and the Shikon No Tama are gone, so I am no threat to you and have no reason to stay here."

Releasing him would indeed be the easy thing to do. No one would be the wiser, and I would no longer be burdened with Inuyasha's maddening presence. Still, I knew I must ferret out the truth behind my sister's death. There were too many unanswered questions. Inuyasha was the key to unlocking the mystery.

My course was set. Pulling out my bow and an arrow, I decided to undertake a calculated risk.

"What are you doing?" Inuyasha demanded nervously as I drew the arrow back into the bowstring.

"Sorry, Inuyasha, but this is for your own good," I apologized. I let the arrow fly toward my intended target: Inuyasha.


	4. Chapter 4: Metamorphosis

The Light Inside 

**Chapter Four: Metamorphosis**

Pure white light shimmered around the shaft of the airborne arrow. I had concentrated my purifying power into the arrow. It was my hope the purification arrow would turn him into a human because he was a hanyou. All hanyous have a vulnerable period in which they briefly lose their powers and revert to a human state.

Even if I didn't know when Inuyasha became human, I could capitalize on his weakness since I'd be forcing the transformation. Yes, Inuyasha would probably be injured, yet the objective of keeping him with me would be accomplished. I could also take him to the village without fear of detection of his yokai blood.

The breath caught in my throat. My arrow penetrated his left shoulder, just above Kikyo's own arrow. The purification light spread beyond my arrow to bathe Inuyasha's whole body. Unlike the last time, he wouldn't accept its invasion without a fight.

"You bitch!" Inuyasha exclaimed, wriggling around violently. "I'll kill you!"

No reply entered my lips. He wasn't a danger to me, so it was best not to provoke him further. I felt horrible enough for exacting something that must've been traitorous and painful. In his eyes, I was little better than Kikyo. Nevertheless, I was willing to take the risk, for he would understand my reasoning later on.

Looking away, I waited for the hanyou's verbal threats and snarls to subside. As soon as this occurred, I hazarded a gander at Inuyasha. Sleep had overcome him again, but his physical appearance was considerably changed from the first bout of slumber. Gone were the indicators of his yoaki legacy to be replaced by ordinary human traits. Most striking were his now black hair and small, rounded ears set on the sides of his face.

Speed was my guide thereafter. I wasted no time in drawing near the sacred tree, standing on tiptoe, and pulling out both arrows, which dematerialized and disappeared into thin air. With nothing to hold him to the tree any longer, Inuyasha's body tumbled to the ground. Blood seeped out of a small hole in his chest and a gash in his right shoulder. Evidently, these wounds corresponded to the spots where Kikyo and me had shot him.

Inuyasha appeared so pitiful and downtrodden. I had to move quickly to secure him. Ripping off a long piece of cloth from the wide sleeve of my kimono shirt, I pulled back his hitai and a white kosode hidden underneath to expose his torso. I snuggly fastened the cloth across his injuries as a temporary bandage before slipping back on his hitoe and kosode. Although being slight of build didn't help matters, I was fortunately able to still lift him up and over my shoulder to carry him to the village.

A plausible lie soon leaped from my mouth to the ears of the villagers. Inuyasha was a young man I had found in the forest unconscious. Judging from the nature of his wounds, he must've been the victim of a bandit attack. I would nurse him back to health to the best of my ability.

Consciousness didn't return to Inuyasha for four whole days. All I could do is what I had been taught as a miko to do for those hurt and under my care. First, I crudely stitched his wounds shut. Then I collected herbs for poultices to give relief of inflammation and pain. I frequently cleaned his wounds and changed his bandages.

Interspersed among my treatment were fervent prayers. Anxiety had continually stabbed at me like a knife. Why was he taking so long to awaken? Had I done the wrong thing? In spite of second-guessing myself, I was most careful not to reveal my innermost emotions to others. I had to make it appear as if his survival was of no particular importance to me.

At sunset of the fourth day, Inuyasha's eyelids fluttered open. I happened to be present, finishing up the mending on my torn kimono shirt and preparing a cooking pot of rice over a small fire. The shirt promptly crumbled to the floor, forgotten. Tears of relief moistened my one good eye. However, I quickly wiped them away, for I wanted to be sure to stay vigilant.

The hanyou struggled to sit up, knocking off the blanket I had covered him with. He moaned quietly and started at the dressings on his unclothed chest. Catching me in his line of sight, Inuyasha's demeanor instantly soured even more.

"What have you done to me, brat?" he snapped.

"I shot you with a purification arrow to turn you human," I stated matter-of-factly. "It was the only way I could keep you with me."

Oddly, Inuyasha seemed unnerved by my words. "What nonsense are you babbling about now? Why didn't you just finish the job Kikyo started?"

"I need you to help me ascertain the truth behind my sister's death."

Now Inuyasha was thoroughly taken aback. "You don't believe I killed your sister?"

"Not anymore."

I studied Inuyasha with a sense of apprehension. Nevertheless, I couldn't discern much from the neutral air he'd currently adopted. He most likely was on his guard again after the upset I had caused.

Switching my attention from him to the cooking pot, I offered, "If you're hungry, I have some rice for you."

He nodded affirmatively, and I scooped out a portion into a bowl. Ceremony apparently wasn't squandered on Inuyasha because the hanyou didn't bother with chopsticks. Instead, he gobbled down the food with his bare hands. In seconds, I joined Inuyasha, clutching a bowl of my own. I began to eat daintily with a pair of chopsticks.

"So what changed your mind about me?" he at last queried slowly.

It was not merely a conversational question, though. This was my opportunity to cement the partnership I sought between us. He wanted answers, same as me. I hoped working together would be the conclusion he would reach, too.

"Tell me why you went to meet my sister the day she died," I requested.


	5. Chapter 5: Duplicity

The Light Inside 

**Chapter Five: Duplicity**

In the dim light of the flickering fire, Inuyasha's face was half-shrouded in darkness. He bared his teeth in a grim smile, his black eyes flashing with a sort of ghostly animal cunning. Despite his human appearance, Inuyasha now seemed very much like his hanyou self again. I shivered with uneasiness.

"Kikyo never let you in on the secret, eh? Well, I'm not surprised. I bet she even led you to believe it was an ordinary meeting no different from the countless ones we'd already had, right?"

I nodded wordlessly. An indignant sense of dread spread throughout my mind and crystallized the full extent of its damage immediately. Deep down in my heart, I always thought something didn't quite ring true about Kikyo's death. After all their undisturbed time together, why did Inuyasha decide on that day as the instant in which to capture the Shikon No Tama?

My brain worked furiously to formulate an answer. For Inuyasha's sake, Kikyo must've put herself in more danger than usual, and she didn't even have the decency to warn me. Or maybe she didn't wish to make me privy to such information because she knew I would try to stop her. There was only one reason why she would embark on silence as a viable course of action….

"Kikyo was going to freely give you the Shikon No Tama!" I concluded, nearing on hysterics. "She should've known better! I-"

Inuyasha rested his bowl of half-eaten rice on the ground and leaned forward to stare sternly at me. "Shut up, brat. It wasn't like that."

"What was it really like?" I questioned hesitantly.

The hanyou raked a hand over his face wearily. A tinge of regret edged in on his features. How many times had he repented a deed of his in his long lifetime?

"With Kikyo, I could be myself," Inuyasha began, his tone bordering on an astounding tenderness. "She wasn't afraid of me like other humans." He sighed. "But I couldn't be with her, as I wanted to be. The differences were still there: I, a hanyou, and she, a miko, with the Shikon No Tama standing between us…"

His voice trailed off. The increasing sorrow in his countenance startled me. I set down my bowl of rice, my appetite suddenly gone.

"Then Kikyo convinced me that we should use the Shikon No Tama to turn me human. The jewel would cease to exist, allowing her to live with me as a normal woman. That's why we were going to meet the morning she died. I should've known this was her way of getting rid of me," he finished bitterly.

I was shocked beyond belief. Inuyasha's story had changed everything. Nonetheless, how could their plan result in ruin? Perhaps it was a curse of the Shikon No Tama. No matter what the purpose, no happiness could come of harnessing the jewel's power.

"Inuyasha, there's still a lot I don't understand about Kikyo's death," I ventured, not certain where to steer my musings. "I believe your story, yet at the same time, I can't believe my sister was capable of betraying you. Something else happened." 

The hanyou's nose scrunched up in confusion. "Are you suggesting someone else tried to kill me?"

Was I? The idea definitely appealed to me. After all, the inkling of a potential third party had been rattling around in my head since Inuyasha completed his narrative. Even so, I still couldn't wholly discredit the possibilities of Kikyo dispatching her love to the afterlife. I had to determine the truth by posing a most pertinent question to Inuyasha.

"You're _sure_ it was Kikyo you saw, right?" I probed.

"Yes!" he burst out in a rush of irritation, missing the point of my inquiry. "I'm not an idiot. I always know who I deal with. Unless…" Belated comprehension dawned on his face. "…A shape-shifting yokai tricked me into thinking it was Kikyo. Damn it all!"

He slammed his fist hard on the ground in helpless rage. Unfortunately, that fist was connected to his injured shoulder by way of his arm, sending a rush of pain over him. I hurried to his side to unwrap his bandages and apply a new poultice.

"God, I hate feeling weak," Inuyasha gritted thorough his teeth. The very fact that he would allow me to attend to him divulged the seriousness of his frailty. "Brat, if this human form of mine is permanent, I'll kill you myself."

"It's temporary," I assured him in a mellifluous tone. "By the time you're actually supposed to turn human, I suspect you'll return to normal."

Because I was done with tending to his shoulder wound, I moved back to my original spot across from him. The hanyou was examining me through eyelids trembling with exhaustion.

"Please rest," I urged, collecting the partially eaten bowls of rice. "You need your strength."

"Don't worry about me. I don't die that easily," he declared gruffly, casting a furtive sidelong glance at the pallet beneath him.

As I dumped the leftover rice into the cooking pot, I ducked my head a little to hide the smirk on my face. If Inuyasha could maintain a front of bravado for my viewing pleasure, he should indeed be fine in due time.

"Once I'm well, I'm going to rip apart the bastard who murdered Kikyo," the hanyou muttered. He eased his body onto the pallet and drew the blanket over himself. Then he made a production of pointing at me, adding, "And if you're of any use, you're going to help me, too."

Immediately afterwards, Inuyasha surrendered to his fatigue. I wondered if he would remember his solicitation for my assistance. It didn't matter. No matter what, I would uphold my end of the bargain.

"Thank you, Inuyasha," I whispered, kissing his forehead.

He never stirred at my touch.


	6. Chapter 6: Suspicions

**The Light Inside**

**Chapter Six: Suspicions**

For the next three days, Inuyasha drifted in and out of consciousness. I reported to the curious villagers that my patient had broken his four-day bout of slumber and was currently recovering. Furthermore, I invented a name for the villagers to call Inuyasha: Yukio. The pseudonym simply meant "happy man." Obviously, I picked this moniker with a sense of hope in mind.

Initially, Inuyasha remained holed up in my hut. Although he understandably needed rest, he wasn't sleeping so much by the third day. In fact, the hanyou's appetite increased rapidly along with the length of his waking hours. However, I quickly deduced a lack of hunger pangs had never been much of an issue for the enthusiastic eater.

Silent, thick brooding accompanied his non-consumption moments. Solutions as to how to alleviate his suffering eluded me. Physically, I knew how to care for him easily enough, yet miko methods to counsel troubled souls don't pertain to yokai entities. Miko training devoted to any type of mention of yokai focuses on ways to contain and destroy them.

My own contemplations consisted of figuring out why I'd been enabled to revive Inuyasha. The kiss had definitely been an impetus, but what was behind it to differentiate it from any other peck on the lips? All I remember was infusing a lot of desire into my contact with Inuyasha, as if I had been willing him back to life.

Did I have some sort of magical power I was unaware of? If so, this was a raw, untamed ability not subject to normal human constraints on magic. Free and easy use of magic belongs to yokai. Usually, humans must carefully cultivate any latent magical talents and establish their intent through a medium such as chanting, prayer, etc. Even then, humans do not always have success.

Meanwhile, as another week passed away, I dispatched a secret letter to invite a special visitor to the village. Inuyasha wasn't notified of my upcoming plans. It was better he didn't know anything until the last possible moment, which meant the arrival day of my guest. Fear of something leaking to Inuyasha prevented me from informing the villagers.

In any event, the villagers continued to direct their interest without disruption upon my new companion. Naturally, the hanyou didn't like attention to be drawn to him. His lips didn't open to answer the questions they asked when they randomly popped in my hut for one matter or another. As one can deduce, the life of a miko doesn't afford much privacy. Of course, being the subtle, diplomatic being that he was, Inuyasha just had to comment on the privacy issue.

"This certainly brings back a lot of memories," he suddenly began, lazily reclining on his pallet after two more satisfied villagers bustled out of my hut.

"What do you mean?" I replied, not sensing I was taking the bait hook, line, and sinker.

"Kikyo was always seeing people and helping them out like you're doing now," Inuyasha clarified.

"So?" I challenged , raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Doesn't it bother you that you hardly get a moment alone? It sure did Kikyo."

Luckily, I swiftly recovered from my surprise, adopted a stoic mask, and calmly refuted Inuyasha's deduction. "Look, I'm a miko. It's my duty to serve the greater good rather than myself."

Curling his lip back in exasperation, the hanyou snapped, "Well, the 'greater good' is driving me crazy. I need a break from them."

With amazing speed for the condition he was in, Inuyasha leaped up and stalked out of the hut. I never had a chance to protest. Vexed, I exited the hut myself. During the rest of the afternoon, I stayed in the shrine, citing that "Yukio" wasn't feeling well. Since Inuyasha was skilled at moving around undetected, I felt confident enough to fib on the subject of his whereabouts.

Furthermore, I felt confident enough that he would return at some point before dusk. His sudden temper flare-ups and occasional disappearances were nothing new to me. He'd committed the same old routine against Kikyo. Village life was simply too confining for the untamed hanyou.

Inuyasha's discontent with the ordinariness of human existence mystified me. For him to have given up his hanyou blood to become human was quite the sacrifice. Until he'd told me the story of what he was really going to do with the Shikon No Tama, I hadn't realized the full extent of his willingness to be with Kikyo, no matter the personal cost to himself. Would he ever feel the same again with someone else?

There was a flip side to this topic, too. Underneath Kikyo's smooth, unruffled exterior laid a cracked, imperfect interior. Did she really tire of her obligation to the office of miko? My sister had never disclosed this particular mind-set to me. Then again, confiding one's despair in a ten-year-old baby sister wouldn't be fair or appropriate. Nonetheless, the notion that Kikyo would forfeit her miko responsibilities so easily acutely wounded me. It was as if she'd selfishly chosen death upon realizing she couldn't receive _exactly_ what she wanted.

At twilight, Inuyasha's slight, lone figure graced my hut's doorway. "Come in," I commanded softly, motioning to him briskly.

I deposited a bowl of rice and freshly cooked meat on his pallet. H e ambled into the hut, silent as ever. He noisily ate without chopsticks for a solid minute and raised his head toward me.

"What happened to Onigumo?" Inuyasha queried.

Startled, I examined the hanyou carefully. A grim purpose pervaded his eyes, inciting a shiver to agitate my body. Excavating the long buried past bothered me greatly, especially a dead criminal I hated. What reason would Inuyasha have to mention Onigumo? Inuyasha detested Onigumo as much as I did.

"The man, may his soul rot in hell, died from a fire that burned out of control on the same day I lost Kikyo," I reported dully, hoping my perfunctory explanation satisfy him.

Unfortunately, the hanyou continued to press forward. "The fire that killed him was one you made for his warmth?"

"Yes, but what do I care about Onigumo's fate? He was a poor excuse for a human being. I was glad to be rid of him."

The venomous words took Inuyasha aback. He'd probably never expected me to react with such coldness. To be perfectly honest, I relished shocking Inuyasha. Let him be slapped with a taste of his own medicine.

However, Inuyasha himself had something up his sleeve. "Sorry, brat, I don't think you got rid of him so easily," he corrected. "Today I happened to go by the cave where Onigumo stayed. There was a strong yokai presence emanating from it. When I walked inside, the yokai presence became strongest at the exact spot Onigumo occupied."

My eyes narrowed. "I'm amazed you could detect a yokai in your human form. You're supposed to lose all your powers. Besides, what makes you think this scent has anything to do with Onigumo? It was probably something freshly made. If that's the case, then you were very foolish to investigate a nearby yokai by yourself. You can't fight any off at present."

Inuyasha's face flushed with anger. "No, the scent was distinctly old. Very old! In fact, it wasn't a single yokai scent. I would say it was more like a whole horde of low-level yokai that murdered Onigumo."

Disbelief clouded my mind. I could only stare at the hanyou mutely. Had I been deceived? Or let myself be deceived?

"Look, I may be human, yet I still I have a sensitivity to yokai. I know what I sensed. There had to be a mastermind behind the attack. A whole horde of low-level yokai wouldn't normally attack together unless a high-level yokai was at the reins. The question is, why didn't you realize Onigumo's true cause of death sooner?" he finally demanded.

"I-I don't know," I stuttered. My brain was slowly attempting to devise a coherent response. "I was overcome with grief. I accepted the surface facts and didn't dig further." Suddenly, the grand design behind Inuyasha's scheme to worm Onigumo into the conversation became painfully clear. "You suspect Kikyo and Onigumo's demises are related? That they were killed by the same yokai?"

He nodded gloomily.

"Why?" I questioned.

"It's not entirely impossible to consider the idea that Onigumo was devoured for his pure evilness. It'd be useful for the yokai once he moved on to Kikyo, because the jewel would be seething with dark blackness." An aura of vengeance exuded from him like a thick fragrance. "Either way, the bastard is going to pay, but damn it, I hate feeling helpless right now."

As much as I didn't wish to expose my secret visitor, I knew he was arriving tomorrow. Therefore, my forewarning Inuyasha would be fuel to fan the fire that was our partnership.

"I know of a means to jumpstart our investigation," I announced.


	7. Chapter 7: Nemesis

**The Light Inside**

**Chapter Seven: Nemesis**

"Brat," Inuyasha whispered.

The rough sleeve of his kosode scratched my sleepy face. I flitted away his arm in annoyance, turning over on my pallet to face the hut wall.

"Wake up!" the hanyou hissed harshly. "He's already here, and he's brought someone with him."

An additional visitor effectively caught my attention. Bolting upright, I rubbed my eyes quickly to rid myself of any lingering bleariness. Inuyasha was situated across from me, staring at me impatiently in the dim light of the early dawn. Suddenly realizing I myself was clothed only in a loose, flowing white kosode, I grabbed both a simple blue kimono to throw about me and a matching obi to secure the kimono. No matter how long I'd shared my quarters with Inuyasha, my embarrassment at the arrangement refused to subside.

The hanyou stuck his head outside the hut. "She's awake," he muttered.

A deep voice interjected Inuyasha's hushed proclamation with a query. "And Kaede-sama is sufficiently attired for an audience?"

"Yes," Inuyasha confirmed tersely.

Honestly, I was surprised he wasn't already biting my guests' heads off. Surely he hated being asked questions that seemed to him frivolous. Nevertheless, in this particular case, I deeply appreciated the deferent propriety shown to me. It wasn't often the aforementioned respect could be attributed to a sincere admiration instead of an awe stemming from my office as an untouchable miko.

Upon Inuyasha stepping back, in walked the pair of visitors, two men. The first male was someone I was already acquainted with and who happened to be the individual I'd originally invited to the village. A green, lightweight jinbei outfit accentuated his tall, wiry frame. On his feet were a set of waraji, which turned out to be a tad too small for him and exposed the tips of his toes. Around his neck hung a snugly tied red furoshiki carrying what few possessions he'd brought along with him on his journey. His long black hair was slicked back into a tight topknot, revealing a hard-featured, grim face that I knew for a fact had witnessed many bloody battles. After all, despite his plain, peasantlike dress (most likely adopted to deflect attention away from himself while on his way to see me), his real station in life was the honorable profession of taiji-ya.

The second male was a person I'd never laid my one good eye on. He, too, like the taiji-ya, was large in stature and possessed a well-defined physique. His entire head had been shaved clean of any hair and was protected with a mushroom-shaped, woven rice straw gasa. His left ear was pierced with several small gold hoops. He sported a black, wide-sleeved osode under a broad, yellow patterned kesa wrapped over one shoulder. The kesa signified his status as a houshi. Heavily worn waraji actually fit his calloused feet. In his right hand, he carried a shakujou staff with an ornamental head and noise-making rings. Curiously, that same hand had a flap of cloth covering his palm and the back of his hand, secured by a ring over his middle finger, and a piece of heavier material wrapped once around his forearm and tied on the underside of his arm. Wrapped around this bundle of fabric was a ring of Buddhist mala prayer beads. Fleetingly, I wondered what had warranted the houshi to bandage his whole hand.

"Shako, my friend, thank you for coming on such short notice," I welcomed the taiji-ya, bowing deeply to him. "It's been far too long since we've last spoke."

"Yes, nearly two years have passed," Shako replied, a grin radiating his face as he bowed to me in turn. "You were still in training to become a miko."

"And you were getting married," I added warmly, yet not without a tiny pang of regret. At sixteen years old, I myself might've already been a young bride had I not been shackled down by my miko status. "How is your wife? Has she given you any fine sons?"

"Our first boy was born just five months ago."

"May your house soon be blessed with many more sons to carry on the honor of your name," I intoned solemnly.

"Let us hope so," Shako agreed. The soft smile rapidly slipped from his countenance, allowing the profound seriousness of his nature to return in full force. "Kaede-sama, now that we have gotten our greetings out of the way, we should proceed directly to the business at hand." Shako gestured to the houshi beside him. "I present to you Miyatsu. He is someone I believe could assist you in your investigation into your sister's death."

Miyatsu inclined his head toward me slightly and offered no ready words. Instead, it was Inuyasha who swooped down to snatch away Miyatsu's opportunity to talk.

"Taiji-ya, I thought you were the one who was actually supposed to help us. How is a mere houshi going to improve our odds of success?" Inuyasha curtly demanded of Shako.

"I might ask the same of you, hanyou," Shako gritted through his teeth, clearly holding his resentment in check. "I cannot believe such a being could be associated with Kikyo-sama, the very miko with whom I entrusted to purify the Shikon No Tama."

A deep blush of embarrassment permeated my face. In all of the personal visits Shako had paid to me as a token of his friendship since my sister's death, never once had he uttered anything so disrespectful. Of course, he hadn't known about Kikyo consorting with a hanyou while guarding the Shikon No Tama until I disclosed the secret in my latest letter to him. In fact, Shako was the first person I'd even made privy to what Kikyo had done. This very action agonized me, for I knew the taiji-ya would be upset that Kikyo had, in essence, betrayed the trust he'd placed in her ability to protect the jewel from yokai.

Still, I risked Shako's displeasure due to the fact that he'd found the Shikon No Tama before handing it over to Kikyo and was therefore my only link to discovering more about the mysterious jewel. Furthermore, his profession of taiji-ya brought him into contact with countless types of yokai. Perhaps he would have an idea as what kind of youkai had killed my sister. Fortunately, Shako cam in spite of Inuyasha, because the taiji-ya recognized the greater need for obtaining justice against the heartless yokai who murdered a miko in cold blood. Would even the high-minded Shako become ensnared in Inuyasha's web of pettiness, thereby distracting us from working together toward a common goal?

Oddly enough, Miyatsu turned out to be the one who diffused the situation. "Please, friends, let us not bicker amongst ourselves," he suggested in an amiable tone. "Surely we can all agree that it is dangerously self-deprecating to speak judgmentally of Kikyo-sama's private affairs when we are here to avenge the honor of her memory at the request of her very own sister. No matter what mistakes Kikyo-sama may or may not have committed in life, she didn't deserve the cruel demise she suffered."

Although both Shako and Inuyasha flushed with anger, they held their tongues. For now, a tentative truce had been struck between the two potential antagonists. I was eternally grateful to the unusual hoshi. In most cases, holy men would be quick to condemn my sister's questionable deeds. Did Miyatsu's unexpected compassion reveal a possible clandestine love affair of his own?

"What information do you have to share with us?" I inquired quietly.

The houshi smiled ruefully and held up his bandaged hand after switching the shakujou staff to his other hand. My eye was instinctively drawn to the fluid motion.

"I am cursed, and the kazaana in my hand is proof of it," Miyatsu announced without any emotion whatsoever in his voice.

A human with a kazaana? Before this point, I'd only heard of a certain few high-level yokai bearing kazaanas, so it was a true rarity to stumble upon a human with one. A kazaana could be an exceptionally deadly weapon under the control of the mere human, never mind a yokai. Why, even the houshi, who obviously already enjoyed vigorous spiritual talents in his own right, would be raised to a footing equal with many mighty yokai as the result of his kazaana.

"Already, the kazaana widens," Miyatsu continued. "Soon, I cannot tell when, it will swallow me up, along with everything near me, unless the powerful yokai that bestowed me with it is destroyed first. He's only growing stronger and stronger by stealing sacred objects and killing holy men. I've already fought him five times over the past several years. Each time I battled with him, he was disguised in a different form."

"A different form? This yokai can transform at will?" Inuyasha questioned, a strained expression haunting his wary face. I felt it safe to guess that his mind, like mine, was devising a terrifying hunch as to how this yokai might fit into the framework of my sister's death.

Miyatsu nodded gravely. "I was able to drive him back four times, though I could not totally defeat him. The fifth and last time that I crossed paths with him was about a year ago. He was cunningly disguised as a noblewoman. I recognized him too late, for he appealed to my manhood's unquenchable desire of that fair sex."

No carefully chosen words could disguise Miyatsu's real meaning: he was a lecher, which was a weakness for the yokai to exploit and pave the way for his undoing. Now I knew for sure why he had not denounce Kikyo's character. He would've been a hypocrite for doing so.

"The yokai escaped yet again, piercing the sacred scrolls I threw at him…piercing my hand. From the instant my hand was pierced, the kazaana was born. Any sons I beget will be cursed as well." Miyatsu glanced at Shako, Inuyasha, and me, something indescribable crossing his features. "Having been defeated five times, I realize that I need allies, or I won't be able to spare my future sons the fate I must submit to."

"Yours is a touching story, houshi-sama," I declared somberly, "but are we allies in common? Has this yokai you speak of wronged me?"

The houshi moved toward me, placing his hands gently over mine. Gazing into my eyes, he remained silent for a moment. My heart beat faster in response, and I dreaded finally hearing what I had been simultaneously longing to discover about my sister's death: who her killer was.

"Kaede-sama, I have learned from the yokai himself that he'd made a bold attempt for the Shikon No Tama six years ago. In the process, he killed the miko protecting it. His name is….Naraku."


	8. Chapter 8: Plan

**The Light Inside **

** Chapter 8: Plan**

Naraku…Naraku…Naraku…

The word was still echoing in my head. After all these years, the menacing, unknown threat finally had a name and could be thus quantified. Nonetheless, I knew I had an even more formidable task ahead of me: how to successfully exact my revenge against a very terrible yokai. If it could in essence sentence an experienced houshi like Miyatsu to death with its curse, what would it do to a novice miko like me?

Inuyasha clearly shared my dismay. He pushed past me, fiercely demanding of the houshi, "How are we to destroy this Naraku bastard if we don't even know where to find him?"

There was a cunning gleam in Miyatsu's eyes. "The best method by which to draw Naraku out is to set up a trap. Of course, not just any old one will do. I've learned that lesson the hard way." The houshi laughed ironically before continuing. "No, what we need this time around is something so tempting that Naraku can't stay away for long. He never resists an open challenge from any whom he can defeat and make their power his own. Inuyasha, if your half-brother Sesshomari were to align with us, he would be the perfect bait."

"I see you know quite a bit about me," Inuyasha growled, his face purple with rage, "so I'm sure you'll understand why I can't go through with another family reunion."

I didn't blame the hanyou for his indignant reaction. The proud and imperious Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands, coldly detested having a half-breed like Inuyasha for a sibling. Though Sesshomaru might've been more forbearing to Inuyasha while their father was alive, the act was definitely over once the Great Dog Demon died. On each occasion the brothers would happen to meet after years of separation, a duel between the two was sure to follow. I suspected the much more powerful Sesshomaru didn't altogether destroy Inuyasha because Sesshomaru's hatred for the hanyou had been twisted to the point of preferring to toy with Inuyasha rather than kill him.

Meanwhile, my eyes rested on Miyatsu and Shako. The audacity of the houshi's proposal continued to amaze me. Judging from Shako's sullen, grudging expression, I guessed he knew every single detail of Miyatsu's plan. For Shako to still agree to travel to my village even after learning he might have to ally himself with yokai portrayed to me the soundness and compelling qualities of the houshi's revenge plot. Therefore, I desired to know how the mighty Sesshomaru could be tricked into joining our petty little cause. Perhaps an explanation of his brother's potential involvement would induce even Inuyasha to accept Miyatsu's contrivance.

"Houshi-sama, what do you mean by bringing Sesshomaru into this matter?" I asked with carefully measured curiosity so as to not appear too eager.

The houshi clapped his hands together with approval at my question. "Kaede-sama, I thank you for your bold treading on dangerous ground Inuyasha will not dare touch."

The hanyou glared nastily at Miyatsu for having so completely insulted his image of bluster. With all the maturity of a self-centered child, Inuyasha blurted out, "Please, don't let me stop you from telling the brat how to become cronies with an asshole like Sesshomaru. After all, what the hell do I know?"

"Did I ever indicate that an alliance with Sesshomaru would actually be a sincere one? Sesshomaru can be used for our ends if he, like Naraku, is tempted with something very desirable."

Miyatsu's shrewd expression deepening even further, and Inuyasha's eyes narrowed in suspicion. My own breath caught in my throat. The grim twinkle in the houshi's eyes betrayed his perverse enjoyment of drawing out the moment of anticipation. Shako, just at the very edge of my field of vision, simply rolled his eyes in disgust at Inuyasha's aggravated display of immaturity.

"Sesshomaru's ultimate weakness is his father's sword, Tetsusaiga. Quite ironic, when you consider his father commissioned the making of Tetsusaiga for the sole purpose of protecting his human concubine and her hanyou son. Still, because Tetsusaiga has the reputation for being quite the powerful weapon, Sesshomaru can't help wanting it. If we get our hands on Tetsusaiga first, we'll spread the news that Inuyasha's been revived and has Tatsusaiga in his possession. When Sesshomaru arrives in the village, eager to rip Tetsusaiga from Inuyasha's hands, Naraku will be sure to soon follow after your brother. We'll turn the both of them on each other and then finish Naraku off with Tetsusaiga's mighty strength."

Thoughtfulness, a rare emotion for Inuyasha, pervaded his guarded features. "There's just one little problem with your plan, houshi. Tetsusaiga is supposed to be enshrined in my father's tomb, but no one knows where it's located. How in the hell can we find a secret grave?"

The houshi shared a conspiratorial glance with Shako before Miyatsu's next words took Inuyasha and me by utter surprise. "There _is_ one who can help us with the search for your father's final resting place."

Out of nowhere, a tiny flea demon with four arms and two legs materialized to perch on Inuyasha's shoulder. He was almost completely bald except for the little bit of white hair around his ears. A white mustache and an orange pointed beak sat below a sharp pair of white eyes surveying our group. His outfit consisted of a light brown kimono and dark brown hakama.

"Inuyasha-sama," the flea demon said.

"Myoga?" the hanyou blurted in disbelief. "My father's retainer?"


End file.
